The present invention relates to home cooking appliances such as waffle irons and portable grills and, more particularly, to a multifunctional griddle for cooking different types of food products by means of reversible or, in the alternative, interchangeable cooking surfaces.
A variety of cooking appliances which permit cooking of different food products by the use of reversible cooking elements are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,899,888 to Koci discloses one such cooking appliance in the form of a combined waffle baker and grill. This particular appliance has two hinged cases. Each case contains a radiant heating element to one side of a cooking grid. Each grid has a flat cooking surface on one side and a waffle cooking surface on the opposite side. To change from one surface to another, each grid is reversed and reinserted into its corresponding case. It has been found that cooking appliances, such as shown in the Koci patent, that use radiant heating of one side of the grid produce uneven heating of the grid and inefficient heat transfer that leads to longer baking times. Temperature control of a baking surface as shown in the Koci patent is obtained by sensing the temperature of separate thermal masses that possess characteristics similar to the cooking grid. This approach does not always provide accurate temperature control of the heating elements. Reversing the grids requires the grids to be removed. This procedure exposes the heating elements, which are subject to damage if contacted. Further, this feature makes it difficult to clean the interior of such cooking appliances.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,145 to Maisch discloses a combination grilling and baking apparatus with two hinged parts. Each part carries a cooking element that has different cooking surfaces. The Maisch patent discloses waffle baking and meat grilling surfaces. Each cooking element has a central elongated and transverse sleeve. Each hinge part carries a heating element. When a cooking element is installed the heating element inserts into the sleeve. This apparatus seems to use a conventional bi-metal control for temperature. Like the device shown in the Koci patent, the combination grilling and baking apparatus disclosed in the Maisch patent requires direct handling of the cooking elements and exposure of the heating element when a cooking element is removed for reversal. Further, even with the cooking elements removed, the heating element makes it difficult to clean the remainder of the cooking appliance.
Other examples of electric cooking appliances having reversible cooking surfaces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,795 to Glucksman et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,470 to Swanson.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose the features of the present multifunctional griddle.